WeedLife News Network

Tim Rearden ~ Newsnet5.com ~   The initiative, which would expunge criminal records for past cannabis convictions if marijuana becomes legal, received the necessary 1,000 signatures from registered Ohio voters.

Kassondra Cloos ~ Colorado Springs Gazette ~   As the number of medical marijuana shops and dispensary-related crimes in Colorado Springs has fallen over the past five years, medical pot tax revenue in El Paso County has soared.

Allison Manning ~ Boston.com ~   You may have a passion for the product, but getting the go-ahead to start growing and selling marijuana in Massachusetts can be a long, expensive and difficult path.

Jessi Rae ~ WeedWorthy ~   Despite changes in other states when it comes to marijuana legalization, the political and cultural landscape in Kansas makes local analysts doubt whether similar progress can take place there.

Mike Florio ~ NBC Sports ~   As expected, the one-game suspension imposed on Packers defensive lineman Datone Jones came from a violation of the law relating to a banned recreational substance.

Joel Warner ~ International Business Times ~ Following years of bureaucratic hurdles, the first Food and Drug Administration-approved, randomized controlled trial on cannabis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is set to begin this summer.

Associated Press  ~   A year after legalization, cannabis tax revenues in the state have topped expectations and sales top $1.4 million per day.

Brad Bowman ~ The State Journal ~   Democratic Sen. Perry Clark spoke at the Mensa Annual Gathering in Louisville on Wednesday in an effort to clear the smoke about myths surrounding cannabis. Clark was one of several presenters invited to the four-day Mensa event at the Galt House.

 Jake Neher ~ Michigan Radio ~   The race is on to legalize marijuana in Michigan in 2016. At least three groups are working to put the question in front of voters. But money will play a big role in deciding which of those groups actually makes the ballot.

Darren Samuelsohn ~ Politico ~   Hardliners on Judiciary open up to research on medical pot.

Bruce Finley ~ Denver Post ~   Metro Denver’s surging legal marijuana industry means surging energy usage in the region.

Danya Bacchus and Samantha Tatro ~ NBC San Diego ~ The new smartphone application Eaze delivers medical marijuana to a user’s home.

Bryan Denson ~ The Oregonian ~   Oregonians who plan to smoke, cultivate or carry cannabis under the state's new recreational marijuana law should make sure they do it in the roughly 47 percent of Oregon where it's strictly legal.

Bruce Kennedy ~ WeedWorthy ~   A veteran industry observer looks back on 2014, ahead to next year, and at the growing national acceptance of legal cannabis.

Jennifer Brooks~ Star Tribune ~   At the stroke of midnight, medical marijuana was legal in Minnesota. Moments later, the state's first cannabis clinic welcomed its first patients.

Shelby Sebens ~ Reuters ~   Crowds counted down the minutes to midnight then lit up joints as smoking marijuana became legal in Oregon on Wednesday, part of a growing legalization movement spreading down the United States' west coast.